


While the Men Are Away

by orphan_account



Series: Arrow Adventures [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Arrow - Freeform, Arrow Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Lazarus Pit, Siblings, Side Effects, Surrogate Siblings, or maybe PTSD, protective Laurel Lance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-13
Updated: 2015-10-13
Packaged: 2018-04-26 03:31:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4988524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's the day after Oliver left, and the city is being rebuilt. Slowly but surely. Laurel and Thea may take even longer to rebuild, but they're determined. Together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	While the Men Are Away

**Author's Note:**

> So I watched the season 4 finale, and was... underwhelmed tbh. In my opinion the show has been declining a little more with each successive season, but I'm not quite ready to give up on it yet. 
> 
> Anyways, this was inspired by Oliver's throwaway comment that Laurel and Thea are living together. This is just one scenario i think could have led to that. 
> 
> Just a one-shot for now, but that may change as the season goes on.
> 
> Enjoy!

"Looks like we're in this together." Thea said as they watched the car disappear into the distance.

"If you call me 'girlfriend', I'm gonna drop-kick you into the next county." Laurel threatened playfully in an attempt to break the tension surrounding them.

Thea laughed, "How about 'big sis'?" She teased back.

Laurel swallowed the sudden lump in her throat, and reached over to wrap her arm around the last remaining member of the Queen family in Starling City.

"Yeah," she rasped, "That'll do."

Together they watched the sunset, before heading back to help repair their city. Again.

* * *

12 hours later Laurel let herself into what had been Oliver and Thea's apartment.

Just Thea's now, she supposed.

"Thea?" She called out, when she didn't immediately spot the younger woman.

There was no response.

Concern growing, she listened hard for a hint of trouble. Only to hear something that sounded like scrubbing?

Laurel crouched down and pulled a knife from her boot, gripping it tightly, before creeping further into the apartment.

She checked the exits first, then the corners, only to find nothing out of order.

No one seemed to be here, but the lights were on and she could still hear persistent scrubbing. And now that she was further in she could even hear someone muttering.

"Blood…so much blood…why won't it go AWAY?!"

That was definitely Thea, Laurel realized with no small amount of alarm as she hurriedly sheathed the knife and picked up her pace.

Finally rounding the couch, she saw what she couldn't have before.

Thea was kneeling on the ground, surrounded by a bucket of soapy water and bleach, scrubbing vigorously at the blood stain that was still visible no matter how hard she appeared to be going at it.

"Oh, Thea." She breathed, recognition hitting her as she dropped to her knees behind her.

The blood stain was left over from when Thea was stabbed in this very apartment. If Laurel had been the one to come home to a bloody reminder of almost dying after the day they'd had... well she couldn't say she wouldn't be doing the same thing. 

Thea didn't react to her presence, didn't even seem to know she was there. She just scrubbed at the floor even harder.

Unable to bear watching any longer, Laurel wrapped her arms around Thea from behind in a parody of a hug.

When Thea continued to try to scrub the floor, Laurel grabbed her wrists, squeezing until she was forced to drop the scrub brush.

For a frozen moment they knelt like that, Thea's breath becoming heavy as she continued to mutter. "Blood... so much  _blood."_

Tugging her backwards, Laurel levered them both to their feet with a stumble. As they moved further from the blood stain, Thea moved from muttering about blood to just intermittent whimpering.

Laurel glanced behind her to judge the distance, and then tipped backwards over the couch with Thea still in her arms.

They landed with a groan, Thea sprawled messily across Laurel's chest.

"Thea," Laurel tried again, "Thea _please_."

Thea froze, before she twisted in Laurel's grip so that she was facing her, "Laurel?"

"Thank god." Laurel relaxed as recognition finally filtered through Thea's eyes. 

"What?" Thea mumbled, the all too breif light of comprehension already dimming, "There's so much blood Laurel. So much."

Laurel pulled her close again, tucking Thea under her chin, and combing her fingers through her hair. "I know, but it's okay."

As Thea began to shake and mumble to herself again, Laurel kept up a steady stream of comforting nonsense.

It continued like this for some time.

"Thea?' Laurel asked much later as Thea finally relaxed in her hold.

Looking down, she was relieved to see that the younger girl had exhausted herself into falling asleep.

Careful not to disturb Thea, Laurel dug into her pocket for her cell phone.

When she finally got it out, she pressed speed dial one and put it to her ear.

It was picked up on the third ring.

"Laurel? I haven't even been gone 24 hours." Oliver answered, the second question of  _'are you alright?'_  remained unspoken.

Laurel couldn't breathe for a moment, her eyes falling closed as his voice rolled over her.

He sounded so wary, so fatalistic. Resigned to there being some new crisis to drag him back in again.

And she couldn't help but remember how exhausted he'd been lately, even before the mess with Ra's. That he'd been fighting this battle for their city longer than anyone else.

On top of the five years he'd spent fighting another type of war away from them. That was 7 years, where he didn't relax, didn't take a break, and certainly never tried to get away and heal.

He was finally doing that, he'd earned that, and she couldn't be bear to be the one to drag him back.

Besides, Thea was like a little sister to her. Laurel would take care of her, and Olvier could heal. Maybe finally be happy, with Felicity.

It was the least she could do.

"Laurel?" Oliver asked when she waited too long to reply.

She cleared her throat. "Sorry. I was just calling to update you…" she lied, easily falling into the same spiel she'd used to update her co-workers hours earlier, telling him everything she knew about how repairs were going.

Oliver let her speak until she was hoarse, only speaking when she was done.

"Laurel… I'll always be here if you or Thea need me, but I need you to do something for me."

"Anything." she promised.

"Don't call me." Laurel stopped breathing. "If you call me, I'll never stay away. I'll be back before I give this an honest chance. So just…Please Laurel. Do this for me."

Laurel felt the loss like a blow, but she breathed through it, her free hand clenching in Thea's shirt.

"Yes." she agreed, "I won't call you again." the last words breaking something inside her.

The last piece of Laurel was gone. She'd lost Oliver, Sara, Tommy, Sara again and now Oliver again. She hardly even recognized herself without them.

Oliver sighed, "Thank you Laurel. And… take care of Thea for me?"

That he felt he even had to ask gave her enough to anger to say goodbye.

"And you take care of Felicity." she replied, gritting her teeth.

"Goodbye Laurel." he said quietly.

"Goodbye Oliver…." she answered, "We love you." she tacked on, too late. He'd already hung up.

Letting the phone drop to the floor, Laurel wrapped both her arms around Thea tighter, "I guess we really are alone." she told the soundly sleeping Thea.

It didn't make her feel better.

* * *

When Thea finally woke up much later, Laurel was still staring unseeing at the ceiling.

"Laurel? What happened?" She asked sleepily.

Laurel shifted to look at the girl in her arms, the last family she had. Tommy and Sara were dead, Oliver and her dad weren't talking to her, and all she had left was Thea.

Come to think of it, she was all Thea had too. Malcolm certainly didn't count for anything.

And she'd do everything in her power to protect this last piece of her, this last bit of family. 

"Laurel?" Thea asked again as she climbed off her, offering her a hand up.

Laurel grabbed it, letting Thea pull her up.

"Pack your bags," Laurel ordered, ignoring Thea's question.

"What? Why?"

Laurel tucked a loose strand of Thea's hair behind her ear, "You're staying with me from now on."

Thea blinked at her, still confused. "Um. Okay?"

"It's like you said," Laurel reminded her, "We're in this together. Little sis."

Thea smiled brighter than the sun.

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> Like it? Love it? Hate it? Let me know, and if you're feeling really generous tell me why.
> 
> Cookie to anyone who knows where the opening lines are from! :)
> 
> Side note: If you can't tell, I'm a big Laurel fan, have been since the first season. i think she gets short changed more often than not, but she seems to finally be getting some recognition. I also love the idea of her and Thea leaning on each other with their respective siblings being gone.


End file.
